Unexpected Beauty

It was a normal Tuesday. I parked in my usual spot and gathered my purse, phone and list. When you pull into Walmart, you almost prepare yourself for the worst. The squeaky carts, the riled children, the empty space on the shelf where that one thing you needed should be. But this particular day, as I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst, I was struck by beauty.

There, in the car next to me, a backseat full of blooming hydrangea bushes. And then, across the aisle from me, a young man with chocolatey skin straps a beautiful big eyed baby into the carrier on his chest. On the cart, a sparkly butterfly sticker clung to the handle, no doubt left there by some pigtailed little girl. On the racks I pass, plaids in shades of navy, goldenrod and plum hang waiting for the cooler weather of Fall. My cart rolls by a tall young woman with braided hair, reaching high for a bottle of shampoo that she hands to the white haired woman below. And it’s all beautiful.

Even on a normal Tuesday. Even in Walmart. Even though they didn’t have the almond paste I wanted. I’m reminded to look for beauty. Not just in nature because that’s all too easy, but in the unexpected places. In the ones that are faded, dirty, worn, hard, broken, imperfect, normal, unextraordinary. God is in those places too and I believe He has placed beauty for us to find there. Like a treasure hunt. Maybe now I won’t mind going to Walmart so much anymore.

Notice: It seems you have Javascript disabled in your Browser. In order to submit a comment to this post, please write this code along with your comment: 41d1e6030cb31948036c88ecb459c561

Hello, I’m Casey! Welcome to Chasing Cozy. Here we strive to live between “You do you” and “You do Jesus”, glorifying God with our hands, hearth and hearts. We hope you’ll find something encouraging for your heart and cozy for your life!